Robert Griffin III wore a few different jerseys during his NFL career as he’s spent time with the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in eight seasons.

Griffin is hoping to don three more colors by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics roll around – red, white and blue.

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ESPN college football and NFL analyst Robert Griffin III reacts on the sidelines before the 2024 AFC divisional round game between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., on Jan. 20, 2024. (Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports)

The one-time Pro Bowler received an invitation last month to Team USA flag football training games as the squad prepares for the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) world championships later this year. The first round of training camp will be held April 16-19 and the second round will be held May 21-24.

“That is the goal, and we’ve already taken the first step in that process,” Griffin told TMZ Sports of making the Olympic team. “It’s 2026. What we’re all fighting for is to be a part of the 12 that goes to Germany and plays in the IFAF 2026 World Championships. Team USA, since (Darrell Doucette III) has joined the team, has not lost a game. I think they’re the five-time reigning IFAF world champions. They are doing this at a high level and all I’m trying to do is add to that greatness.

GIANTS COACH SHARES WISDOM FOR JAXSON DART AFTER WORKING WITH PATRICK MAHOMES IN KANSAS CITY

Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III warms up before the game against the Chicago Bears at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 1, 2016. (Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)

“But in 2028, I’ve already put that and said that is the goal. I want to go for gold with Team USA and I’m just going through every single step to make that happen and respecting these guys and respecting the flag football community along the way.”

Following the final training camp, a selection committee will trim the list of possible players from 24 to 18 for a third camp in June. The committee will then take the best 12 players for the world championships, taking place Aug. 13-16.

Team USA quarterback Darrell Doucette III carries the ball during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 21, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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Darell Doucette III has already proven to be one of the best flag football players in the world, as he led Team USA to victories in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic against NFL players.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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TORONTO – Everyone on the Toronto Raptors is hurting but, with three regular-season games left on the schedule and the final playoff spot theirs for the taking, they’re playing through it.

Scottie Barnes had 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Toronto earned a critical 121-95 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday. According to head coach Darko Rajakovic, Barnes took a stiff shot to his ribs in the Raptors’ 115-101 loss to the Boston Celtics two days earlier.

“I’ve been banged up, but, you know, you’ve just got to play through it,” said Barnes after the victory over Miami. “Can’t really focus on that, just try to play with your brain and try to make sure that you feel as good as possible. Trick yourself in that way.

“But just go out there and play with a lot of effort, play with a lot of energy, get better, and just try to win.”

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Toronto (44-35) tightened its grip on the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the win.

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Miami (41-38) was 10th in the East, holding the fourth seed in the conference’s play-in tournament, three games back of the Raptors.

The two teams meet again Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.

Immanuel Quickley (plantar fasciitis, right foot), Sandro Mamukelashvili (left knee soreness) and rookie centre Collin Murray-Boyles (right quad contusion) were all game-time decisions, but were made available to play for Toronto less than an hour before the opening tipoff.

“Long season, man. It’s hard. It’s tough,” said Murray-Boyles, who had six points and eight rebounds but was plus-17 against Miami. “Obviously, this is like three (collegiate) seasons, all balled into one.

“Definitely tough, but I think it helps me for the future, knowing how to really prepare myself for these type of moments, especially at the end of this season.”

Murray-Boyles had two blocks and a steal as the Raptors turned in an impressive defensive showing.

The Heat have been held to fewer than 100 points just six times this season, but three of those times were against Toronto.

On top of dealing with his right-quad contusion, Murray-Boyles has been managing a sprained left thumb throughout the season. Although it takes a beating in every rebound, block, steal and deflection, the 20-year-old said he has no intention of slowing down.

“I wouldn’t be playing if I did that. That’s my identity, being aggressive,” said Murray-Boyles. “You know, being a defensive pest out there, being active and stuff like that, that’s what I made a name off of.

“I have to do it.”

Quickley started against Miami, scoring three points and adding four assists and four rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

Rajakovic said that, despite the dominant win over the Heat, Toronto still isn’t playing to the best of its abilities.

“Because we’re really banged up still,” he said. “Several guys played banged up, played through a lot of pain.

“That’s the NBA. That’s the part of the season we’re in.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

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Cam Schlittler looked slightly more human Tuesday than he had in his first two starts of the season.

And while that meant giving up his first runs of the year, he was still solid enough to keep the Yankees in it before they came back to pull out a 5-3 win over the Athletics on a chilly night in The Bronx.

After starting the season with 13 ²/₃ straight scoreless innings, Schlittler gave up three runs on four hits in the third inning against the A’s.

“I think overall it was pretty good, but just one mistake there in the third and it cost me three runs,” Schlittler said.

The rally began with Max Muncy’s infield single on a dribbler down the third base line with Amed Rosario playing back.

Ex-Met Jeff McNeil then roped a single to right field before Denzel Clarke moved the runners to second and third on a sacrifice bunt with two strikes.

Schlittler then left a fastball over the plate to Nick Kurtz, who smoked it for a double to the gap to drive in both runs for the 2-1 lead. One out later, Tyler Soderstrom added on with a double of his own down the right field line to make it 3-1.

“Not quite as dominant as his first two [starts], obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You kind of think he’s just going to roll out there for seven innings and 75 pitches and strike everyone out. You realize it’s not that easy. He had some longer at-bats tonight where he just wasn’t quite as sharp with his command.”

Schlittler, who still has yet to walk a batter this season, struck out seven while throwing 84 pitches as he continued to finish off his buildup after a back issue delayed him briefly in the spring.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. twisted his left ankle when his cleat got caught as he flew out to center field in the eighth inning.

The second baseman was hobbling a bit and a little sore, but remained in the game for the top of the ninth.

Gerrit Cole threw live batting practice Monday, and if everything goes well in his recovery this week, he is scheduled to pitch again Sunday as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

“We’ll see if that’s a live or a game setting, I’m not sure yet,” Boone said.

Boone did not know whether that “game setting” could potentially mean the start of a rehab assignment.

Throughout his comeback, Cole has stuck to a 14- to 18-month timeline for a return, meaning mid-May is the earliest he would be back on a big league mound.

Pitchers get a 30-day clock on a rehab assignment, though that can also be extended for those coming back from Tommy John.

Through the first 10 games, Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest has yet to appear.

He warmed up in the top of the eighth Tuesday, when the Yankees trailed 3-1 but never got in after they rallied, still waiting to make his MLB debut.

“There’s been a couple games that he’s almost been in,” Boone said. “With the off-days, for the most part, we’ve been dealing on most days with a fairly full pen, with the exception of a couple days where we’ve been real short. Situation’s got to present itself, though. … He’s ready to go when that opportunity comes.”

— Additional reporting by Dan Martin

Considering who wasn’t available for the Lakers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, it wasn’t a surprise that they were blown out by the league-best Thunder for the second time in five days.

But their spirited start despite Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes being available offered a glimmer of hope. 

Two-way center Drew Timme couldn’t miss early. 

Luke Kennard was once again leading the Lakers’ offense has a playmaker. 

Rookie forward Adou Thiero’s athleticism was popping.

And somehow, the Lakers found themselves tied with the defending champions at 42 apiece midway through the second quarter.

But that hope quickly evaporated, with the Thunder taking full control of the game.

The Lakers scored just 22 points over the next 24 minutes of playing time en route to a 123-87 blowout loss. 

Their scoring total was their lowest in a game this season. 

Rui Hachimura, one of four Lakers who were getting rotation minutes a week ago who was available on Tuesday, led the short-handed Lakers with 15 points. 

Timme had 11 points. Kennard finished with 10 points and 9 assists, while Thiero had a career-high 10 points in the most playing time he’s had in an NBA game (21 minutes).

What it means

The Lakers are in the midst of their first three-game losing streak since Feb. 22-26.

They stayed at No. 4 in the Western Conference standings with a 50-29 record, now a game behind the Nuggets (51-28) with three games left in the regular season.

Turning point

It should’ve been much earlier in the game considering who wasn’t available for the Lakers.

But when Jake LaRavia missed a pair of free throws late in the second quarter, with the Lakers already trailing, 60-46, and Isaiah Joe made a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to put the Thunder up by 17, it was clear if it wasn’t already that Tuesday wasn’t going to be the Lakers’ night. 

MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The reigning league MVP didn’t have any troubles against the depleted Lakers.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with 8 assists in 28 minutes, sitting out of the fourth with the Thunder leading 93-62 going into the final quarter.

Stat of the game: 17

That’s how many free throws the Lakers missed, making an already difficult game even more challenging than it needed to be.

The Lakers’ 45.2% free-throw percentage on Tuesday was by far their worst mark for a game this season.

Their previous worst free-throw percentage accuracy was the 57.1% they shot from the charity stripe in the Jan. 9 home loss to the Bucks.

Up next

The Lakers will travel to San Francisco to play the Warriors on Thursday at Chase Center.

The matchup against the Warriors will be the first night of a back-to-back, with the Lakers hosting the Suns on Friday. 

With the playoffs assured, the final stage for the Montreal Canadiens is to finish strong in preparation for the most important games of the season. The Canadiens are defending too much these days, getting regularly outshot and out-chanced.

While thoughts are on milestones being reached, for the organization, they’re focused on Montreal playing its best hockey. The Canadiens are in a low energy moment and they almost lost to the Florida Panthers in regulation, but some late heroics forced overtime before a shootout produced a 4-3 win.

Wilde Horses

There was only one standout on the entire roster in this one for the longest time: Ivan Demidov. He was a magician with the puck at times, making world-class moves. The crowd was a chorus of oohs and aahs; Demidov was so exciting to watch. His head coach recognized it as Demidov led the club in ice time for the first two frames, which hasn’t happened this season.

It was Demidov who got the Canadiens on the board as deserved. It was a power play marker as Cole Caufield fed it across ice, where Demidov wired it home. It was one of only two solid chances in the first two periods.

The other good look was Phillip Danault stealing it and feeding Josh Anderson for a tip-in, but he directed it right into Daniil Tarasov’s pads for the save. That was it for 40 full minutes. In the third, early, Danault counted for 2-2, but it didn’t look like anything good was going to happen.

That was until Lane Hutson showed why he is one of the most exciting players in hockey. With 20 seconds left, it was Hutson by himself deciding to take on three Panthers, and he beat them all. The goalie bit on his last move, but he was already behind the net.

Hutson kept his head and fed Nick Suzuki for the late tying marker as the Bell Centre absolutely erupted. It went to overtime. Montreal finally played some inspired hockey in the extra five, but couldn’t convert.

It went to a skills competition where the Canadiens had more skills. Caufield went five-hole with his effort for a goal, then Alexandre Texier made a perfect shot under the bar for two-for-two. A third shot wasn’t even needed as Jakub Dobes stopped both of the Florida efforts.

This was hardly pretty, but a good team found a way.

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Wilde Goats

The Canadiens picked a poor time to get somewhat out of sync. This is the first time all season that they are playing low-event hockey for an extended period. They don’t seem to have much energy, and they’re unable to generate a good forecheck, or a good cycle.

The fact that two players were healthy and rested and added to the lineup should have provided a spark, but it didn’t. The line switching didn’t ignite the second line at all as Texier had a poor game. Texier wasn’t committed to the task, physically hinting that he’s not sure that he is fully healed.

Oliver Kapanen moved to the fourth line, which he likely took as a slap in the face. However, it’s not a surprise at all as he has been looking fatigued in the last quarter of the campaign. Offensively, the Canadiens played 116 minutes of hockey between goals. That’s the longest stretch all season.

The real issue on the night, though, from a goals-allowed perspective was Arber Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom. The partnership was on for both goals against. Engstrom was the goat on the first goal and Xhekaj the goat on the second goal.

Alexandre Carrier and Kaiden Guhle are missed. Thankfully, for the head coach, both will be back for the playoffs. They need their energy to be back for the playoffs. The Devils Sunday was understandable with six games in nine nights, but this one will concern the organization more: They were rested. They were ready, but they need to bring more pace in the four games that are left.

Wilde Cards

Difficult decisions of the best kind are in the future for Head Coach Martin St. Louis. When he has a healthy roster, he won’t be sure what his starting lineup should look like for the playoffs.

Historically, head coaches choose experience. However, St. Louis may not be cut from the same cloth as his predecessors. This morning, after practice, there was a hint that he could choose the best players regardless of pedigree.

The most difficult choice is obvious. Brendan Gallagher has been a warrior for the Canadiens for 14 years. However, he is likely not one of the best 12 forwards on the Canadiens presently. In order of strength on the top two lines: Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Demidov, Kapanen, Newhook. That’s the easy part.

In order of strength on the next two lines: Evans, Dach, Texier, Danault, Anderson, Bolduc, Veleno, Gallagher. That order of strength is fluid. On any given night, that list can rotate from almost top to bottom.

It may come down to the opponent. Against the Buffalo Sabres, more brawn will be required against a big team. Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, more experience may be required against a team that is savvy and plays on gamesmanship to get their opponents off-balance.

Gallagher drawing in against the Sabres is more difficult to imagine than drawing in against the Lightning. Perhaps, if penalty killing becomes important and forechecking as well, then Veleno is a strong choice.

If it comes down to raw skill to finish plays throughout the lineup, and if balanced scoring wins the day, then Dach and Texier are needed most. Faceoffs will always be key, so Danault would never leave the lineup.

One can attack this from a number of ways. It’s not written in stone for this head coach who sees action and who doesn’t.

However, if they head into the playoffs with 14 healthy forwards, the best guess here is Gallagher and Veleno will sit. That almost seems impossible, but there it is.

It’s a good problem to have, but it sure is open to second guessing as well.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

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Call of the Wilde: Habs win three in a row

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — The green jacket had barely settled onto Rory McIlroy’s 5-foot-9 frame as the freshly minted Masters champion a year ago when he posed this question to the packed interview room at Augusta National:

“What are we all going to talk about next year?’’

That was McIlroy’s verbal retort to the assembled media after not only ending an 11-year major championship drought, but capturing his first Masters and completing the coveted career Grand Slam.

With every major championship he’d entered since his last win, in 2014, the questions had come to McIlroy in rapid succession, and the narrative had become suffocating.

When was he going to win another major?

Would he ever win a Masters with the baggage he was carrying?

Finally, in April 2025, McIlroy answered, staving off Justin Rose in a playoff.

So, that comment from McIlroy to open his winner’s press conference was his public exhale.

A year later, here we are and there is a fresh question in place for McIlroy: What now?

“I think the story as it relates to me is what do I do from now onwards? What motivates me? What gets me going? What do I still want to achieve in the game?’’ McIlroy said Tuesday in advance of his Masters defense. “I think that’s the story.’’

No player has defended his Masters title since Tiger Woods in 2001-2002.

“There’s still a lot that I want to do,’’ McIlroy said. “You think every time you achieve something or have success that you’ll be happy, but then the goalposts move, and they just keep nudging a little bit further and further out of reach.

“I think what I’ve realized is, if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that’s the big thing, because honestly I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there and then I realized it wasn’t the destination.’’

The prevailing thought is that McIlroy comes to Augusta now completely liberated from the dark questions that followed — and dogged — him before winning last year.

“I think the nice thing now is instead of it being, ‘Come on, Rory, you know you can do this,’ it’s [trying to win] back-to-back,’’ McIlroy said. “There’s a real positive connotation to it instead of, ‘Geez Rory, we’ve been waiting a while. When are you going to get this done?’

“It’s just very different, and maybe that’s just my perception of it. But it is so nice to walk around property or be out on the golf course and just not have that hanging over me, like it feels that it’s a big weight off my shoulders.’’

Asked what he believes will be the most difficult element of repeating, McIlroy said, “Probably the 90 other players that are in the field.’’

“There’s so many great players and so many players with so much experience on this golf course, it’s not quite like some of the other major championships. It seems like you get a lot of the same guys contending year in and year out. That’s the challenge.’’

The final so-called distraction McIlroy faced as the defending champion came Tuesday night when he hosted the annual Champions Dinner.

“People keep asking me why didn’t you go more Irish?’’ McIlroy, who’s from Northern Ireland, said of the menu.

“And I said, ‘Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well.’ ’’

The best question asked of McIlroy on Tuesday was about any fear of missing out he had in previous Masters Tuesdays, seeing the past champions get ready for the clubhouse dinner he wasn’t invited to.

He called that feeling every year “not great,’’ adding, “I wish I was a part of it.’’

Then he launched into a funny story about last year.

“Myself and Justin Rose actually went for dinner at the club last year on the Tuesday night with a few of the Augusta National members,’’ he recalled. “And it was weird, I was pulling up Magnolia Lane, and you get to the circle, and I’m like, ‘Well, do I go and park way over at the players parking lot? Because I’m not going to park in the champions parking lot.

“Then at that specific moment, the champions were having their cocktails out on the balcony [and] I’m like, ‘I don’t want to valet and get out [because] they’re going to see me and it’s going to be weird.’ So I had this really awkward moment with it all last year.

“Thankfully, that was the last time that I needed to do that.’’

After some fans allegedly directed anti-Muslim chants during last Tuesday’s international soccer friendly between Spain’s national team and Egypt, FIFA confirmed it had opened disciplinary proceedings.

In a statement, the sport’s governing body said the action was taken against Spain’s federation following the incident.

“FIFA has today initiated disciplinary proceedings against the Spanish Football Federation for incidents that occurred during the friendly match against Egypt.”

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Spain players line up before the international friendly football match between Spain and Egypt at RCDE Stadium in Cornella de Llobregat, near Barcelona, on March 31, 2026. (Lluis Gene/AFP)

RCDE Stadium in Catalonia, Spain, hosted the March 31 match, with Spain as the home team. Fans in sections of the 40,000-seat stadium — a potential future World Cup site — were possibly heard chanting, “bote, bote, bote musulman el que no bote,” which translates to “jump, jump, jump, whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim.” The chant resurfaced several times during the match.

The stadium announcer issued a warning to fans about the venue’s policy against discriminatory behavior following reports of anti-Muslim chants.

Spain players walk on the pitch before the international friendly football match against Egypt at RCDE Stadium in Cornella de Llobregat, near Barcelona, on March 31, 2026. (Lluis Gene/AFP)

Egypt is overwhelming a Muslim nation. According to the World Religion Database, approximately 90% of the country’s population identifies as Muslim.

US WORLD CUP HOPES TAKE HIT AFTER STAR PLAYER RUPTURES ACHILLES

Spain star Lamine Yamal, condemned the chants a day later, labeling those responsible “ignorant and racist.”

“I am a Muslim, thank God,” the 18-year-old wrote in a post to Instagram Wednesday. “I understand not all the fanbase is like that, but to those who sing those chants: using religion as something to mock people in a football stadium leaves you as ignorant and racist people.”

FILE – Spain’s Lamine Yamal, center, warms up for the Nations League semifinal soccer match between Spain and France in Stuttgart, Germany, June 5, 2025. (Matthias Schrader/AP)

“Football is to enjoy and support, not to offend people by who they are or what they believe in,” Yamal’s post concluded.

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Criticism came swiftly, with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) denouncing the behavior before full time and Joan Garcia and Pedri echoing that stance after the match.

“The RFEF stands against racism in football and condemns any act of violence inside stadiums,” the governing body of the sport in Spain wrote in a statement posted to social media last Tuesday.

The response extended beyond the pitch, with Spain’s minister of education, vocational training and sport and the Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemning the chants.

Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente also condemned the messaging. “I am repulsed by and absolutely reject any form of xenophobia or racism — it’s completely intolerable,” he said at a news conference.

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The Lakers are down after the regular season-ending injuries to star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

But they’re not out. 

Already having clinched a playoff spot before Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique strain) suffered their regular season-ending injuries during last Thursday’s blowout road loss to the Thunder, the Lakers are guaranteed to play beyond Sunday’s regular season finale against the Jazz.

How much further they’ll play beyond the first four games of their first-round playoff series, and whether they’ll extend the season to give Doncic and Reaves enough time to return to the floor in the postseason, will depend on several factors.

The main one being whether they can find the right formulas and game plans to win during life without their star guards.

“We have to be diligent on the offensive end with our screening and still want to just have a paint-touch mentality,” coach JJ Redick said ahead of Sunday’s loss to the Mavericks. “Got to put guys in a position to do that, but our screening’s going to be a big part of that, our effort offense as well. We’ll play lineups that haven’t played together probably all season. Got to crash, got to run.”

The loss to the Mavericks, in which they scored 128 points but allowed the Mavericks to score 134 points in their first home win in over two months, showed there’s progress for the Lakers to make.

And with LeBron James missing Tuesday’s home game against the Thunder because of left foot injury management, in addition to Marcus Smart sitting out of the matchup for his eighth consecutive missed game because of a right ankle contusion, significant progress won’t be able to be made until Thursday’s road game against the Warriors at the earliest. 

Here are the factors the Lakers need to hone in on to maximize the team without Doncic and Reaves

The possession battle

Doncic and Reaves combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 6.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Lakers during the regular season.

There isn’t a player, or even a collection of a few players, who can replicate or replace the statistical production the team’s star duo produced on a nightly basis.

But what the Lakers can do is improve even more on the margins. 

The Lakers have been one of the league’s better teams this season at winning the possession battle, but they can be even better. 

Already one of the league’s best teams at getting to the free throw line, a strength of Doncic’s and Reaves’, and not allowing many offensive rebounds or opponent free throws, the biggest way they can give themselves more bites at apple is from better offensive rebounding.

This can be achieved by playing bigger lineups more often, which they did against the Mavericks when they used Maxi Kleber as the 4 alongside either Deandre Ayton or Jaxson Hayes.

They have an above-average offensive rebounding rate when Kleber and Hayes share the floor, and become an elite offensive rebounding team when Kleber and Ayton are on the court together.

Transition defense

Getting stops has been an up-and-down challenge for the Lakers.

And a depleted offense won’t make things easier defensively.

But the Lakers can help themselves by consistently getting back on defense with more urgency compared to how they did against the Mavericks.

Their 12 turnovers, a very low mark, weren’t the problem. But the 21 points they allowed off turnovers made it a game of catch up.

Slow down

The Lakers are going to need all of the easy points they can get. 

But they also need to be strategic with how often they push the ball up the floor in transition offensively.

James is a one-man fastbreak, third in the league in transition points per game. 

And they have multiple players besides James, including Hayes, Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura, who thrive offensively when getting up and down the floor.

But without the proper ball-handlers to feed them, the Lakers need to be careful with how often they push.

Mistakes in transition not only would prevent them from having offensive rebounding opportunities, but will spread their defense thin.

Green Shirt Day is back, and Canadians are being encouraged once more to register as organ donors.

The day is a national campaign rooted in the legacy of an Alberta-born junior hockey player killed eight years ago in the Humboldt Broncos crash in Saskatchewan.

2:04
Organ and tissue donation campaign kicks off leading up to Green Shirt Day

Twenty-one-year-old defenceman Logan Boulet died from his injuries on April 7, 2018, and his parents said it had been his wish to donate.

Green Shirt Day organizers have said that decision helped save six lives.

In the weeks that followed, about 150,000 people registered to become organ donors, launching what became known as the “Logan Boulet Effect” and Green Shirt Day.

The crash killed 15 others and injured 13, after a truck driver went through a stop sign at a remote intersection in Saskatchewan and into the path of the team’s bus.

The Saskatchewan government has said that the province continues to see organ transplant donation registration rates go up.

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The registry, which started in September 2020, has seen more than 30,000 residents register their intent to donate organs and/or tissues.

“On Green Shirt Day, we honour Logan Boulet and the powerful legacy of organ and tissue donation,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Tuesday on social media.

“Across Saskatchewan, families are choosing to give the gift of life and are bringing hope to others.”

Nicole de Guia, manager of organ donation and transplantation with the Canadian Institute for Health Information, said data from 2024 shows that 3,203 transplants were performed in Canada. Data from 2025 is not yet available.

“We still have quite a bit of demand for these vital surgeries, and there’s still much more of an unmet need,” de Guia said in an interview.

There were 4,044 Canadians on a waiting list for an organ as of Dec. 31, 2024, while 691 people died or were withdrawn from the list.

She said, nationally, there has been an increase in transplant surgeries in the last 10 years.

But data from 2024 shows the first decrease in deceased donors in five years — about six per cent compared to the year before. Living donations saw a smaller decrease in 2024 with 1.7 per cent.

“For the most part, a living donor can only provide a kidney or a part of a liver, so we really rely on deceased donors to be able to supply these vital life-saving surgeries,” she said.

De Guia added that it’s still too soon to tell if the decrease is a trend that will continue or just a fluctuation.

The institute — an independent not-for-profit organization that collects, analyzes and shares data on Canada’s health systems — started a project in 2023 funded by Health Canada for a new data system called CanODT. It’s aimed to modernize organ donation and transplantation reporting across Canada.

De Guia said there’s still a lot of manual data entry in the transplant process and the new system is designed to better support interprovincial organ transfers.

“This is a precious resource and it needs to be very timely to share data about organs that are available and to match them up with those who need them the most,” she said.

The institute does not have data specifically about Green Shirt Day, but de Guia said these kinds of campaigns are important for starting conversations within families about donation.

“It really starts with an individual and their family’s consent to be able to donate an organ,” she said.

“So with campaigns such as Green Shirt Day and others, no doubt it’s making a difference in a number of people’s lives.”

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Logan Boulet effect remains strong after 7 years

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